World Match Racing Tour.

HAMILTON, Bermuda (11th October 2015): Adam Minoprio is a past ISAF Match Racing World Champion on the 2009 World Match Racing Tour but hasn’t sailed a regatta this year. Today he made an emphatic statement on his return to the helm. Minoprio’s BlackMatch team from New Zealand defeated Keith Swinton’s Black Swan Racing from Australia, 3-2, in the final of the 67th annual Argo Group Gold Cup. Minoprio and crew of Nick Blackmon, Andrew Burgess and Tom Powrie won $35,000 of the $100,000 prize purse. Swinton and crew Ted Hackney, Henry Kernot and Björn Lundgren won $16,000. Adam Minoprio and his team of Nick Blackman, Andrew Burgess and Tom Powrie winning the 67th Argo Group Gold Cup © Photo by Charles Anderson / RBYC “I’m ecstatic. It’s amazing. I’ve been trying to win this event for a long time and to do so feels wonderful,” said the 30-year-old Minoprio from Auckland, New Zealand, who was competing for the sixth time. “Some of my crew talked me into coming back here and we were able to get some good results and have a good time.” Adam Minoprio and his team was on form today at the Argo Group Gold Cup © Photo by Charles Anderson / RBYC Minoprio has previously finished runner-up twice (2008, ’09) and today he had to work hard for the victory. With a southerly wind blowing around 10 knots the crews were racing the width of Hamilton Harbour. That placed the windward mark under the southern shore and in very shifty and patchy winds. No lead was safe coming out of the windward mark and there were frequent lead changes, including the fourth race when it appeared Minoprio would seal the victory. He led by about four boat lengths beginning the run to the finish line but Swinton overcame his rival with a series of gybes and a final luff to force the final, winner-take-all race. Keith Swinton in action during the Finals of the Argo Group Gold Cup © Photo by Robert Hajduk / WMRT “We thought we might’ve broken their spirit on that one,” said the 29-year-old Swinton from Perth, Western Australia. “We’re disappointed to lose but happy with our performance. Adam kept improving throughout the day, especially his starts, while our performance stayed the same.” In the fifth and final race Minoprio forced Swinton into a poor start that saw the Aussie put in a gybe at the committee boat end as the start gun sounded while Minoprio sailed onto the course with speed. Swinton trailed all the way around and although it appeared he might have one final chance after rounding the windward mark for the final time, it never materialised. Head to head; Adam Minoprio calls out a protest against Keith Swinton and his team at the Argo Group Gold Cup final © Photo by Robert Hajduk / WMRT “We were in a bad spot there,” Swinton said of the start. “It couldn’t have been much worse.” Minoprio and Swinton made the final after winning their Semi Final matches against Taylor Canfield’s US One and Björn Hansen’s Nautiska Racing, respectively. Canfield entered the final day of racing with an undefeated record (10-0) and seemingly on a course to the championship. He chose to race Minoprio because he thought that the Kiwi was rustier than the other sailors since he hadn’t match raced all year. But that decision backfired in the fifth and deciding race. Taylor Canfield and his US One team in action against Bjorn Hansen in the Petit Final of the Argo Group Gold Cup © Photo by Robert Hajduk / WMRT Minoprio was over the start line early in the final race, which gave Canfield a large early lead. Canfield maintained that advantage around the course and led by about 30 seconds at the final windward mark. After rounding he gybed to starboard while Minoprio held on port after rounding. Moments later it was apparent that Canfield was in trouble as his spinnaker hung from the rigging. Minoprio, however, was sailing down in a nice streak of pressure that he used to cross the finish line about two lengths ahead of Canfield and into the final. “We got nervous about halfway down that leg,” said Canfield, 26, from St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. “It was a tricky balance of boat-on-boat sailing versus tactical sailing. We were manoeuvring in between the puffs and trying to cover. It was the worst case scenario.” Swinton, meanwhile, watched that race from the dock as he advanced to the Final after defeating Hansen, 3-1. Swinton seemed to attack Hansen in the pre-starts, but the Swede said he was happy with his starting. Swinton just found better pressure on the racecourse to pull out the victory. “It was a minefield out there,” said Hansen, 47, from Mariehamm, Sweden. “When you’re ahead you have to choose which mark to round and you don’t always have time to see where the puffs are. Or if you see them, sometimes they’re gone when you get there. We took the wrong leeward mark a couple of times. You need to have luck. But we were happy to beat Taylor in the Petite Final.” Hansen beat Canfield, 2-1, in the Petite Final to win $12,000 while Canfield’s US One crew earned $11,000 for fourth place. The Argo Group Gold Cup is the penultimate event on the World Match Racing Tour. The final event is the Monsoon Cup Malaysia, scheduled for late January 2016. Based on the final results Hansen, Canfield and Ian Williams, the overall tour leader who placed seventh in the Argo Group Gold Cup, will have the best shot at winning the ISAF Match Racing World Championship. The three skippers are separated by just 5 points. 2015 World Match Racing TourWorld Championship Event - Argo Group Gold Cup OVERALL RESULTS1. Adam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch2. Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing3. Björn Hansen (SWE) Nautiska Racing4. Taylor Canfield (ISV) US One5. Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing6. Eric Monnin (SUI) Team SailBox7. Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar8. Chris Steele (NZL) 36 Below Racing9. Dean Barker (JPN) SoftBank Team Japan10. Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team11. Francesco Bruni (SWE) Artemis Racing12. Chris Poole (USA) Riptide Racing13. Blythe Walker (BER) Team RenRe14. Reuben Corbett (NZL) Corbett Racing15. Joachim Aschenbrenner (DEN) Aschenbrenner Racing16. Nicolai Sehested (DEN) Trefor Match Racing FINALAdam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch bt Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing 3-2 PETIT FINALBjörn Hansen (SWE) Nautiska Racing bt Taylor Canfield (ISV) US One 2-1 SEMI FINALS RESULTSAdam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch bt Taylor Canfield (ISV) US One 3-2Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing bt Björn Hansen (SWE) Nautiska Racing 3-1 QUARTER FINALS RESULTSTaylor Canfield (ISV) US One bt Chris Steele (NZL) 36 Below Racing 3-0Adam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch bt Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing 3-2Björn Hansen (SWE) Nautiska Racing bt Eric Monnin (SUI) Team SailBox 3-1Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing bt Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar 3-2 FINAL REPECHAGE RESULTS1. Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing 6-12. Chris Steele (NZL) 36 Below Racing 5-23. Dean Barker (JPN) SoftBank Team Japan 4-34. Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team 3-45. Francesco Bruni (SWE) Artemis Racing 3-46. Chris Poole (USA) Riptide Racing 3-47. Blythe Walker (BER) Team RenRe 2-58. Reuben Corbett (NZL) Corbett Racing 2-5 FINAL QUALIFYING RESULTS GROUP 11. Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing 5-22. Eric Monnin (SUI) Team SailBox 5-23. Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar 4.5-24. Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team 4-35. Dean Barker (JPN) SoftBank Team Japan 3-46. Chris Poole (USA) Riptide Racing 3-47. Blythe Walker (BER) Team RenRe 2-58. Joachim Aschenbrenner (DEN) Aschenbrenner Racing 1-6 GROUP 21. Taylor Canfield (ISV) US One 7-02. Björn Hansen (SWE) Nautiska Racing 5-23. Adam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch 4.5-24. Chris Steele (NZL) 36 Below Racing 4-35. Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing 3-46. Francesco Bruni (SWE) Artemis Racing 2-57. Reuben Corbett (NZL) Corbett Racing 2-58. Nicolai Sehested (DEN) Trefor Match Racing 0-8 2015/16 World Match Racing Tour Leaderboard Standings1 Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar 90pts2 Björn Hansen (SWE) Nautiska Racing 88pts3 Taylor Canfield (ISV) US One 85pts4 Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing 75pts5 Phil Robertson (NZL) Team TREFOR 73pts6 Eric Monnin (SUI) Team SailBox 59pts7 Joachim Aschenbrenner (DEN) Aschenbrenner Racing 59pts8 Reuben Corbett (NZL) Corbett Racing 58pts9 Matthew Jerwood (AUS) Redline Racing 53pts10 Chris Steele (NZL) 36 Below Racing 52pts FULL RESULTS HERE

Hamilton, Bermuda (10th October 2015): The Semi Finals of the $100,000 Argo Group Gold Cup features a past World Match Racing Tour champion, a two-time runner-up, a 12-time entrant and a young gun aiming to upset the balance. Crews led by skippers Taylor Canfield, Adam Minoprio, Björn Hansen and Keith Swinton advanced to the next stage of the regatta after surviving a light and patchy day on Hamilton Harbour. Tomorrow morning’s Semi Final will pit Canfield’s US One against Minoprio’s BlackMatch team and Hansen’s Nautiska Racing versus Swinton’s Black Swan Racing. The winners move on to the Final tomorrow afternoon. As the No. 1 seed in the regatta Canfield chose to race Minoprio, which forced the other match up. “We chose Adam because we think he’s a little rustier than the other two,” said Canfield. “Adam hasn’t done a lot of match racing this year. Björn looks like he’s on point and Keith has been sailing very well. So we’ll take our chance with my good friend Adam.” 2009 World Tour Champion Adam Minoprio books a spot in the Semis and will compete with Taylor Canfield and his US One Team © Photo by Charles Anderson / RBYC Canfield, the 2013 World Match Racing Tour champion, and his US One crew defeated Chris Steele’s 36 Below Racing, 3-0, to remain undefeated in the regatta. The crew has won all 10 races they’ve sailed. “Even when they’re on the wrong side of things they minimize the damage and come out of it in good shape,” said Steele of Canfield and his crew. “They’re always fast. We led two of those three races and should’ve been able to put them away. We did plenty right, just a few things wrong, and they always carry enough momentum to make you pay for your mistakes.” Keith Swinton beat World No.1 Ian Williams to book his place in the Semi Finals tomorrow © Photo by Charles Anderson / RBYC Swinton’s Black Swan Racing from Australia took down Ian Williams’ GAC Pindar, 3-2. Williams’ crew leads the 2015 World Match Racing Tour overall standings. But when the match was on the line in a winner-take-all fifth race, it was the younger Swinton, aged 29, who came out on top. Swinton credited his crew’s run through the Repechage Round as preparing them for the challenge. Ian Williams and his GAC Pindar - "They had better execution and deserved to win" © Photo by Charles Anderson / RBYC “Full credit to Keith and his crew,” said Williams, the five-time match racing world champion. “It was hard to know today whether (it was best) to be ahead or behind at the windward mark. All the situations that were 50-50 went Keith’s way. They had better execution and deserved to win.” Minoprio, runner-up in 2008 and ’09, and his BlackMatch crew took down fellow New Zealander Phil Robertson and his WAKA Racing team by a score of 3-2. A close match through the first four races, the decider was lopsided in Minoprio’s favor when he got a penalty on Robertson in the pre-start and then Robertson started too early. Hansen and his team are on form today at the Quarter Finals of the Argo Group Gold Cup © Photo by Charles Anderson / RBYC Hansen is making his 12th appearance at the Argo Group Gold Cup and ninth consecutive with his Nautiska Racing Team. His previous best finish was 2nd in 2007. In today’s light winds he defeated Eric Monnin’s Swiss Match Race Team, 3-1. Monnin’s crew are considered light-air specialists, but they were no match for Hansen. “We were happy with our boatspeed but Björn sailed very well,” said Monnin. “He gave us no chance to pass when we were behind. I made a couple of errors in the starts and we had no chance to get back at him.” “Eric’s team is extremely good in these boats and light winds,” said Hansen. “We managed four good starts and had good tactical calls from Massimo (Bortoletto).” Semi Finals start tomorrow morning at 0900hrs (ADT). Stay up to date with the event as we bring live race action via Twitter on @wmrt_liverace and regular updates on @worldmrt from Bermuda. Follow us on facebook.com/worldmatchracingtour to get the latest news, event updates, behind the scenes and information of the Argo Group Gold Cup. The Argo Group Gold Cup is sponsored by the Argo Group, an international underwriter of specialty insurance and reinsurance products in areas of the property and casualty market. Additional sponsors include the Bermuda Tourism Authority, Bacardi, Guy Carpenter, RenaissanceRe, Aon Benfield, and the World Match Racing Tour and Match Racing Association. 2015/16 World Match Racing TourWorld Championship Event - Argo Group Gold Cup SEMI FINALSTaylor Canfield (ISV) US One vs Adam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatchBjörn Hansen (SWE) Nautiska Racing vs Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing QUARTER FINALS RESULTSTaylor Canfield (ISV) US One bt Chris Steele (NZL) 36 Below Racing 3-0Adam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch bt Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing 3-2Björn Hansen (SWE) Nautiska Racing bt Eric Monnin (SUI) Team SailBox 3-1Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing bt Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar 3-2 FULL RESULTS HERE

HAMILTON, Bermuda (11th October 2015): Adam Minoprio is a past ISAF Match Racing World Champion on the 2009 World Match Racing Tour but hasn’t sailed a regatta this year. Today he made an emphatic statement on his return to the helm. Minoprio’s BlackMatch team from New Zealand defeated Keith Swinton’s Black Swan Racing from Australia, 3-2, in the final of the 67th annual Argo Group Gold Cup. Minoprio and crew of Nick Blackmon, Andrew Burgess and Tom Powrie won $35,000 of the $100,000 prize purse. Swinton and crew Ted Hackney, Henry Kernot and Björn Lundgren won $16,000. Adam Minoprio and his team of Nick Blackman, Andrew Burgess and Tom Powrie winning the 67th Argo Group Gold Cup © Photo by Charles Anderson / RBYC “I’m ecstatic. It’s amazing. I’ve been trying to win this event for a long time and to do so feels wonderful,” said the 30-year-old Minoprio from Auckland, New Zealand, who was competing for the sixth time. “Some of my crew talked me into coming back here and we were able to get some good results and have a good time.” Adam Minoprio and his team was on form today at the Argo Group Gold Cup © Photo by Charles Anderson / RBYC Minoprio has previously finished runner-up twice (2008, ’09) and today he had to work hard for the victory. With a southerly wind blowing around 10 knots the crews were racing the width of Hamilton Harbour. That placed the windward mark under the southern shore and in very shifty and patchy winds. No lead was safe coming out of the windward mark and there were frequent lead changes, including the fourth race when it appeared Minoprio would seal the victory. He led by about four boat lengths beginning the run to the finish line but Swinton overcame his rival with a series of gybes and a final luff to force the final, winner-take-all race. Keith Swinton in action during the Finals of the Argo Group Gold Cup © Photo by Robert Hajduk / WMRT “We thought we might’ve broken their spirit on that one,” said the 29-year-old Swinton from Perth, Western Australia. “We’re disappointed to lose but happy with our performance. Adam kept improving throughout the day, especially his starts, while our performance stayed the same.” In the fifth and final race Minoprio forced Swinton into a poor start that saw the Aussie put in a gybe at the committee boat end as the start gun sounded while Minoprio sailed onto the course with speed. Swinton trailed all the way around and although it appeared he might have one final chance after rounding the windward mark for the final time, it never materialised. Head to head; Adam Minoprio calls out a protest against Keith Swinton and his team at the Argo Group Gold Cup final © Photo by Robert Hajduk / WMRT “We were in a bad spot there,” Swinton said of the start. “It couldn’t have been much worse.” Minoprio and Swinton made the final after winning their Semi Final matches against Taylor Canfield’s US One and Björn Hansen’s Nautiska Racing, respectively. Canfield entered the final day of racing with an undefeated record (10-0) and seemingly on a course to the championship. He chose to race Minoprio because he thought that the Kiwi was rustier than the other sailors since he hadn’t match raced all year. But that decision backfired in the fifth and deciding race. Taylor Canfield and his US One team in action against Bjorn Hansen in the Petit Final of the Argo Group Gold Cup © Photo by Robert Hajduk / WMRT Minoprio was over the start line early in the final race, which gave Canfield a large early lead. Canfield maintained that advantage around the course and led by about 30 seconds at the final windward mark. After rounding he gybed to starboard while Minoprio held on port after rounding. Moments later it was apparent that Canfield was in trouble as his spinnaker hung from the rigging. Minoprio, however, was sailing down in a nice streak of pressure that he used to cross the finish line about two lengths ahead of Canfield and into the final. “We got nervous about halfway down that leg,” said Canfield, 26, from St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands. “It was a tricky balance of boat-on-boat sailing versus tactical sailing. We were manoeuvring in between the puffs and trying to cover. It was the worst case scenario.” Swinton, meanwhile, watched that race from the dock as he advanced to the Final after defeating Hansen, 3-1. Swinton seemed to attack Hansen in the pre-starts, but the Swede said he was happy with his starting. Swinton just found better pressure on the racecourse to pull out the victory. “It was a minefield out there,” said Hansen, 47, from Mariehamm, Sweden. “When you’re ahead you have to choose which mark to round and you don’t always have time to see where the puffs are. Or if you see them, sometimes they’re gone when you get there. We took the wrong leeward mark a couple of times. You need to have luck. But we were happy to beat Taylor in the Petite Final.” Hansen beat Canfield, 2-1, in the Petite Final to win $12,000 while Canfield’s US One crew earned $11,000 for fourth place. The Argo Group Gold Cup is the penultimate event on the World Match Racing Tour. The final event is the Monsoon Cup Malaysia, scheduled for late January 2016. Based on the final results Hansen, Canfield and Ian Williams, the overall tour leader who placed seventh in the Argo Group Gold Cup, will have the best shot at winning the ISAF Match Racing World Championship. The three skippers are separated by just 5 points. 2015 World Match Racing TourWorld Championship Event - Argo Group Gold Cup OVERALL RESULTS1. Adam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch2. Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing3. Björn Hansen (SWE) Nautiska Racing4. Taylor Canfield (ISV) US One5. Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing6. Eric Monnin (SUI) Team SailBox7. Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar8. Chris Steele (NZL) 36 Below Racing9. Dean Barker (JPN) SoftBank Team Japan10. Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team11. Francesco Bruni (SWE) Artemis Racing12. Chris Poole (USA) Riptide Racing13. Blythe Walker (BER) Team RenRe14. Reuben Corbett (NZL) Corbett Racing15. Joachim Aschenbrenner (DEN) Aschenbrenner Racing16. Nicolai Sehested (DEN) Trefor Match Racing FINALAdam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch bt Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing 3-2 PETIT FINALBjörn Hansen (SWE) Nautiska Racing bt Taylor Canfield (ISV) US One 2-1 SEMI FINALS RESULTSAdam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch bt Taylor Canfield (ISV) US One 3-2Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing bt Björn Hansen (SWE) Nautiska Racing 3-1 QUARTER FINALS RESULTSTaylor Canfield (ISV) US One bt Chris Steele (NZL) 36 Below Racing 3-0Adam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch bt Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing 3-2Björn Hansen (SWE) Nautiska Racing bt Eric Monnin (SUI) Team SailBox 3-1Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing bt Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar 3-2 FINAL REPECHAGE RESULTS1. Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing 6-12. Chris Steele (NZL) 36 Below Racing 5-23. Dean Barker (JPN) SoftBank Team Japan 4-34. Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team 3-45. Francesco Bruni (SWE) Artemis Racing 3-46. Chris Poole (USA) Riptide Racing 3-47. Blythe Walker (BER) Team RenRe 2-58. Reuben Corbett (NZL) Corbett Racing 2-5 FINAL QUALIFYING RESULTS GROUP 11. Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing 5-22. Eric Monnin (SUI) Team SailBox 5-23. Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar 4.5-24. Johnie Berntsson (SWE) Berntsson Sailing Team 4-35. Dean Barker (JPN) SoftBank Team Japan 3-46. Chris Poole (USA) Riptide Racing 3-47. Blythe Walker (BER) Team RenRe 2-58. Joachim Aschenbrenner (DEN) Aschenbrenner Racing 1-6 GROUP 21. Taylor Canfield (ISV) US One 7-02. Björn Hansen (SWE) Nautiska Racing 5-23. Adam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch 4.5-24. Chris Steele (NZL) 36 Below Racing 4-35. Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing 3-46. Francesco Bruni (SWE) Artemis Racing 2-57. Reuben Corbett (NZL) Corbett Racing 2-58. Nicolai Sehested (DEN) Trefor Match Racing 0-8 2015/16 World Match Racing Tour Leaderboard Standings1 Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar 90pts2 Björn Hansen (SWE) Nautiska Racing 88pts3 Taylor Canfield (ISV) US One 85pts4 Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing 75pts5 Phil Robertson (NZL) Team TREFOR 73pts6 Eric Monnin (SUI) Team SailBox 59pts7 Joachim Aschenbrenner (DEN) Aschenbrenner Racing 59pts8 Reuben Corbett (NZL) Corbett Racing 58pts9 Matthew Jerwood (AUS) Redline Racing 53pts10 Chris Steele (NZL) 36 Below Racing 52pts FULL RESULTS HERE

Hamilton, Bermuda (10th October 2015): The Semi Finals of the $100,000 Argo Group Gold Cup features a past World Match Racing Tour champion, a two-time runner-up, a 12-time entrant and a young gun aiming to upset the balance. Crews led by skippers Taylor Canfield, Adam Minoprio, Björn Hansen and Keith Swinton advanced to the next stage of the regatta after surviving a light and patchy day on Hamilton Harbour. Tomorrow morning’s Semi Final will pit Canfield’s US One against Minoprio’s BlackMatch team and Hansen’s Nautiska Racing versus Swinton’s Black Swan Racing. The winners move on to the Final tomorrow afternoon. As the No. 1 seed in the regatta Canfield chose to race Minoprio, which forced the other match up. “We chose Adam because we think he’s a little rustier than the other two,” said Canfield. “Adam hasn’t done a lot of match racing this year. Björn looks like he’s on point and Keith has been sailing very well. So we’ll take our chance with my good friend Adam.” 2009 World Tour Champion Adam Minoprio books a spot in the Semis and will compete with Taylor Canfield and his US One Team © Photo by Charles Anderson / RBYC Canfield, the 2013 World Match Racing Tour champion, and his US One crew defeated Chris Steele’s 36 Below Racing, 3-0, to remain undefeated in the regatta. The crew has won all 10 races they’ve sailed. “Even when they’re on the wrong side of things they minimize the damage and come out of it in good shape,” said Steele of Canfield and his crew. “They’re always fast. We led two of those three races and should’ve been able to put them away. We did plenty right, just a few things wrong, and they always carry enough momentum to make you pay for your mistakes.” Keith Swinton beat World No.1 Ian Williams to book his place in the Semi Finals tomorrow © Photo by Charles Anderson / RBYC Swinton’s Black Swan Racing from Australia took down Ian Williams’ GAC Pindar, 3-2. Williams’ crew leads the 2015 World Match Racing Tour overall standings. But when the match was on the line in a winner-take-all fifth race, it was the younger Swinton, aged 29, who came out on top. Swinton credited his crew’s run through the Repechage Round as preparing them for the challenge. Ian Williams and his GAC Pindar - "They had better execution and deserved to win" © Photo by Charles Anderson / RBYC “Full credit to Keith and his crew,” said Williams, the five-time match racing world champion. “It was hard to know today whether (it was best) to be ahead or behind at the windward mark. All the situations that were 50-50 went Keith’s way. They had better execution and deserved to win.” Minoprio, runner-up in 2008 and ’09, and his BlackMatch crew took down fellow New Zealander Phil Robertson and his WAKA Racing team by a score of 3-2. A close match through the first four races, the decider was lopsided in Minoprio’s favor when he got a penalty on Robertson in the pre-start and then Robertson started too early. Hansen and his team are on form today at the Quarter Finals of the Argo Group Gold Cup © Photo by Charles Anderson / RBYC Hansen is making his 12th appearance at the Argo Group Gold Cup and ninth consecutive with his Nautiska Racing Team. His previous best finish was 2nd in 2007. In today’s light winds he defeated Eric Monnin’s Swiss Match Race Team, 3-1. Monnin’s crew are considered light-air specialists, but they were no match for Hansen. “We were happy with our boatspeed but Björn sailed very well,” said Monnin. “He gave us no chance to pass when we were behind. I made a couple of errors in the starts and we had no chance to get back at him.” “Eric’s team is extremely good in these boats and light winds,” said Hansen. “We managed four good starts and had good tactical calls from Massimo (Bortoletto).” Semi Finals start tomorrow morning at 0900hrs (ADT). Stay up to date with the event as we bring live race action via Twitter on @wmrt_liverace and regular updates on @worldmrt from Bermuda. Follow us on facebook.com/worldmatchracingtour to get the latest news, event updates, behind the scenes and information of the Argo Group Gold Cup. The Argo Group Gold Cup is sponsored by the Argo Group, an international underwriter of specialty insurance and reinsurance products in areas of the property and casualty market. Additional sponsors include the Bermuda Tourism Authority, Bacardi, Guy Carpenter, RenaissanceRe, Aon Benfield, and the World Match Racing Tour and Match Racing Association. 2015/16 World Match Racing TourWorld Championship Event - Argo Group Gold Cup SEMI FINALSTaylor Canfield (ISV) US One vs Adam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatchBjörn Hansen (SWE) Nautiska Racing vs Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing QUARTER FINALS RESULTSTaylor Canfield (ISV) US One bt Chris Steele (NZL) 36 Below Racing 3-0Adam Minoprio (NZL) BlackMatch bt Phil Robertson (NZL) WAKA Racing 3-2Björn Hansen (SWE) Nautiska Racing bt Eric Monnin (SUI) Team SailBox 3-1Keith Swinton (AUS) Black Swan Racing bt Ian Williams (GBR) GAC Pindar 3-2 FULL RESULTS HERE

London, UK (7th Nov 2014): With some downtime now on the cards for Team Alpari FX, the boys are embarking on a new challenge for the hairiest month of the year…Movember. For the 30 days of November, men around the world are taking action by changing their appearance through the growth of a new moustache, and Team Alpari FX is on board for the prickly journey ahead. Movember is more than just an excuse to grow a fine piece of ‘moustachery’, it’s about sparking conversations while raising funds and awareness for prostate cancer, testicular cancer and men’s mental health. It’s about having fun and ‘doing good’, and at the same time an excuse to laugh at newly acquired facial hair (or lack of)! Movember is the leading global organisation committed to changing the face of men’s health and thanks to the support of more than four million participants worldwide, they have raised $580 million and funded 800 programs in 21 countries. A clean shave Skipper Keith Swinton and his fellow Australian Mo Bros – Ricky McGarvie, Ben Lamb, Tudur Owen and Ted Hackney – start their Mo-growing journey with a clean-shaven face. To show your support and find out more visit Team Alpari FX Movember and follow the team’s progress on Twitter @TeamAlpariFX

Hamilton, Bermuda (24th Oct 2014): For the first time since 2003, Bermuda has been struck by hurricane strength winds not once but twice in the last fortnight. Yet remarkably over this period the mid-Atlantic British Overseas Territory has managed to lay on not just this week’s Argo Group Gold Cup, but last week hosted the world’s top golfers at the PGA Grand Slam. Being on the track of north Atlantic hurricanes means that the islanders have had to adapt over the years and for example a stringent set of building regulations help minimise the inevitable carnage when 100+ mph winds strike. Thanks to efforts of the National Hurricane Centre in the USA, hurricanes are not only tracked but great effort goes into projecting their track. After devastating several Caribbean islands, it was known several days in advance that Tropical Storm Fay and last Friday’s Hurricane Gonzalo were likely to strike Bermuda, so anticipating Gonzalo the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club delayed the start of the Argo Group Gold Cup by a day. Trees were uprooted by the effects of Hurricane Gonzalo Once Gonzalo passed they held a meeting to assess their situation. “If we had 95% of the island without electricity, then we’d have had a problem,” admits event Chairman Brian Billings. In the event only half the island lost power, one damaged International One Design was replaced and the devastation at the airport was such that it was operational again within 24 hours. “After numerous phone calls, we said ‘yes, we’re on’,” says Billings. Hurricane Gonzalo was vicious. Leaving the Caribbean it was rated as a Category 2 hurricane (83-95 knots) but hitting warm open water it built to a Cat 4 (113-136 knots) before downgrading marginally to a Cat 3 just before hitting Bermuda. Argo Group Gold Cup Event Chairman Brian Billings According to Billings, Gonzalo’s slow pace made it a ‘long storm’ with winds already up to storm force by 0700 local time on Friday and still honking by 1100 the next day. “In between my barograph took a very slow spin down and it went down to 27.5 [931mB] and then there was a little bit of a horizontal line and then she slowly came back up again…” This was in stark contrast to Hurricane Emily which came and went within just four hours. Strangest was the eye of the hurricane, continues Billings: “It was huge – it took an hour to pass. It was flat calm, very eerie and very misty – it was kind of weird. Then all of a sudden – womp – the eye wall hit and it came in with a vengeance, like someone threw a bucket of iced water at you unexpectedly.” Damages caused by Hurricane Gonzalo When Gonzalo struck Billings says the most wind he saw was 130mph while he was at home, however this was at sea level and it was stronger on higher ground. Despite this the devastation caused was surprisingly slight. This was partly thanks to Tropical Storm Fay having swept through a week earlier with winds of 110+mph. “When Fay hit we hadn’t had any major wind storm for quite a while, so the branches were heavy and we had a very wet August so there was a lot of foliage all over the place and the trees were all laden with flowers and buds, which added extra weight to them,” Billings continues. “So Fay took out of a lot of trees, and the clean up was longer than it was for Gonzalo - the roads were blocked for almost two days. Without that there could have been a lot more damage and the infrastructure could have suffered much more when Gonzalo hit.” Damages caused by Hurricane Gonzalo Through sheer luck, the timing of the two storms could not have been better. Fay hit leaving just enough time for the golf course at Port Royal to be cleaned up ready for the PGA Grand Slam, despite vast tree damage. “You wouldn’t have known it had happened - they got the course in great shape real fast,” says Billings. “Bermuda is very resilient and has a capability and the attitude to bounce back. People just jump in and help neighbours and we have our Bermuda regiment which helps.” During hurricanes, usually as devastating as the wind is the storm surge, the massive volume of water blown along ahead of the system. However this did not affect Bermuda. Billings explains: “They were forecasting 35-45ft seas outside of the reef line on the South Shore, but there is the reef that slows it down, so we don’t get a storm surge from there. If it goes from the north then it can come into the Great Sound, then it comes into the Harbour and has no place to go. That happened during Emily.” According to Billings hurricanes strike Bermuda once every 10 years. So having two in the space of a week means statistically they should be free of them for some years to come. Good news for the Argo Group Gold Cup in years to come hopefully.

London, UK (14th Nov 2014): The discipline of Match Racing is considered the most combative and strategic form of sailing. With just two boats pit against each other on the race course in identical boats, match racing is about the pure skill of the skipper and the agile performance of his or her team. The ability to make quick decisions and outwit your opponent - every move counts. All rules decisions are made by on-water umpires selected by the International Sailing Federation (ISAF). This concept was developed by the match racing community and has been long used in the America’s Cup to provide instant decisions to the teams and avoid long protest hearings after racing. Think it’s an easy job? In a new series of ‘You’re the Umpire!’, we take a look at some of the difficult calls the umpires have to make. Would you make the same decisions? 2014 Dutch Match Cup  - Williams vs Hansen In this tense pre-start during Qualifying at the 2014 Dutch Match Cup, both Bjorn Hansen of Hansen Sailing Team and Ian Williams of GAC Pindar fight for position as the clock counts down to the start. In the final seconds before the start, Williams makes an arguably aggressive manoeuvre diving for a gap between Hansen and the committee boat resulting in a collision with both Hansen and the committee boat. Who was in the right and who was in the wrong? And what decision did the Umpires make? In the 4 minute pre-start, both teams fight for the upper hand crossing tacks and trying to move into the best position. Teamwork is key at this point to execute fast manoeuvres in the small pre-start area  Hansen (sailing boat 3) positions himself to leeward and in a right of way position over Williams (boat 5) to make it difficult for Williams to start close to the starting vessel Williams turns towards the start line. He has no right to room between Hansen and the starting vessel because under the rules he cannot call for room when approaching the line to start  The questions here are whether there is room for Williams to fit in the gap between Hansen and the committee boat. And if Hansen subsequently heads up and 'shuts the door’ on Williams, has Williams been given the opportunity to go somewhere other than into the rapidly closing gap. Hansen, as the [leeward] right of way boat, is obliged under rule 16 to give room to the other boat to keep clear as he changes course.  At this point the Umpires have a number of options they can take; Call 1: If there is room for Williams between Hansen and the committee boat, and Hansen simply ‘shuts the door’ without giving Williams any room to keep clear - Penalty to Hansen for breaking rule 16. Call 2: If there is room for Williams between Hansen and the committee boat, and Williams had the room to dip behind Hansen’s stern or tack out to the right of the committee boat as the gap closed but chose not to, then Penalty to Williams for not keeping clear of Hansen. Call 3: If there is no room for Williams no matter what Hansen’s actions then Penalty to Williams for not keeping clear. Call 4: If you give the penalty to Williams and decide he gained an advantage compared to where he would have ended up if he’d bailed out, then hand him a second 'umpire initiated’ Penalty. The Final Umpires Decision: The umpires decided that Williams was in the wrong and he received two penalties, one for not keeping clear of Hansen, and one for gaining an advantage through breaking a rule. Would you have made the same decision? Share your comments on our Facebook post here

London, UK - 14 May 2012: Several rule changes have been confirmed for the 2012 Alpari World Match Racing Tour, coming into effect at the first event of the season, Match Race Germany in Langenargen on May 23 – 28. The Racing Rules have been amended in order to continue the positioning of the Alpari World Match Racing Tour (AWMRT) as the most compelling, competitive and pioneering action on the water. Craig Mitchell, Alpari World Match Racing Tour, Tour Director, expects the alterations to have a positive effect on the Tour, as well as match racing in general: “Match racing has evolved to the point where we currently have a great set of rules, producing some fantastic sporting action, as we saw quite clearly in the 2011 series. “Nothing major has changed in the past few years and we are enthusiastic in our responsibility to keep developing the rules to challenge our world class athletes and create the best possible spectacle we can.”

Langenargen, Germany (9th June 2014): Downunder, where chief umpire Bill Edgerton comes from, there’s a children’s character called Blinky Bill, a laid-back cuddly cartoon Koala. But if the sailors on the Alpari World Match Racing Tour think they can pull the blinkers over their on-the-water officials, they’ve got another thing coming. Edgerton (known to some as Complicated Bill) and his colleagues are wise to their mischievous tricks. Most of the boats used on the Alpari World Match Race Tour are tiller-steered, but at Match Race Germany, the Bavaria 40 keelboat is equipped with a wheel. This offers the cheekier skippers a new opportunity to pull the wool over the eyes of the umpires. Just as professional footballers are prone to tripping over a blade of grass on the edge of the penalty box, sailors are not immune to similar forms of dyspraxia. Tight situations sometimes tempt sailors into the dark art of dissimulation. But Complicated Bill is on to them: “They're playing to the umpires! They're trying to gain an advantage, and it's a game between us and them. “They're always trying to show that they're doing what they need to stay out of trouble, and we're always looking to see that they're doing enough. So, they can exaggerate the drama of the situation and make it look as though it's more dramatic than it is in reality. But it's not as bad as a dive in football. “When you need to keep clear, you have to turn the boat, and if you're not close enough or not watching closely, they can slide their hands over the top of the wheel without actually turning it, saying, ‘Look, I'm going as hard as I can!’” Little beknown to the offending skipper, Edgerton is looking further down - below the waterline - for evidence of whether or not they’re really trying. “Actually if you're looking at the rudder you see there's no turning of the rudder whatsoever. It's up to us to try and satisfy ourselves if they are really doing everything they can, or if they're just playing a game.”news88.net http://www.europosud.ua http://motioncrisp.wordpress.comevakuator-servis.com/http://www.galid.com/

Langenargen, Germany (8th June 2014): Being a professional sailor isn’t just about being able to sail a boat fast, it’s about conducting yourself in a professional manner in every respect. It’s what you do off the water that counts too, such as negotiating with commercial partners who can help fund the costs of competing on a global circuit. French skipper Mathieu Richard has shown a useful knack of being able to sign a sponsor who can help his team perform on the Alpari World Match Racing Tour. Last year, despite lacking a Tour Card, Richard succeeded in finding a sponsor in GEFCO who helped him compete on a number of events as a Wild Card holder. Victory at the Korea Match Cup and some other great performances were sufficient to get him back into this year’s circuit as one of the eight Tour Card holders. “It's a great feeling to be back as a Tour Card holder, because the last time was in 2011. We managed to get a new sponsorship with LunaJets, so they are following us for this season. I'm very excited and very glad to be on the Tour with my team, which is the same team pretty much as last year.” LunaJets, a private jet brokerage based in Geneva, already supported Richard on the RC44 circuit. “When I asked them if they wanted to go on the Alpari World Match Racing Tour, they immediately said yes, so they are very excited to be on the circuit with us. We hope we can repay their faith in us. They are very sensitive to the fact that it's a World Championship and we are a very high level team and we are fighting for the victory, for the title. They like this very much.” Richard has a very diverse background in racing, with world championship wins as a tactician in keelboats like the Mumm 30 and fast multihulls the ORMA 60 offshore trimarans. He has won the offshore challenge, the Tour de France a la Voile, four times, but in the past decade he has increasingly focused on match racing. Victory at the European Match Racing Championship in 2004 showed what he could do, and since then he has finished runner-up in the Tour in 2007. He has been a world force in match racing ever since. Richard attributes his success to having raced with a core of friends for a very long time. “I started match racing with Greg, my tactician, more than 15 years ago, so it's really been a while. Then Thierry and Olivier have been with me for eight or nine years. Francois Verdier, the bowman, started with me two years ago and Pascal Rambeau, the same.” While he’s competing in a combative part of the sport, Richard maintains a placid demeanour. “I am not sure I am very aggressive, definitely some are more so, like Bjorn Hansen; even the young guys, Robertson, Swinton, they like to be aggressive. It is not in my nature to be so aggressive. I try to stay smooth on the course to keep the boat fast and we also have good skills in terms of tactics on board with Greg as tactician. It's difficult to say just one good point about the team, we have a lot of skills and I think we are pretty strong in all parts of the game.” Aged 38, he is one of the older skippers on the Tour, but with many good years remaining, and with as much enthusiasm for the sport as ever, he says. “Obviously you haven't got the same spirit when you are 20 as when you are 38. When you are 20 you are starting out, and you are probably a bit fresher and looking at racing with, I wouldn't say more enthusiasm, but you discover everything for the first time. When you get a bit more experienced you know how it works, it's a bit different. You can bet on your experience to beat the others - and that's what we are trying to do.” But is there a danger of relying on experience too much, of not trying new ideas any more? “Not really, because sailing is a game in which you always try to improve every day. Even if I started match racing 15 years ago, I am always trying to improve and thinking about the moves, the start, the trimming etc. You are never satisfied with your level. It's about trying to improve all the time. Experience is a good asset, but you have to always be looking for new tricks.”http://online.casinocity.com evakuator-servis.com http://europosud.uawww.evakuator-servis.comhttp://goodportal.com.ua/

London, UK (9th Oct 2014): The German National Match Racing Championship kicks off today at the Constance Yacht Club, Langenargen Germany. Nine of Germany’s best match racing teams will go head to head in the hope of gaining an invite to next year’s Alpari World Match Racing Tour Championship event, Match Race Germany. The German National Match Race Championships will be sailed in Blu26 boats with a 4 person crew on picturesque Lake Constance in Germany. Felix Oehmes, who is one of the best ranked sailors in Germany, has his eyes on winning this year’s event. Oehmes of Hamburg Match Race Team who sailed alongside Carsten Kemmling at Match Race Germany this year, has gained much match racing experience against top sailors from the Alpari Tour and will have a few tricks up his sleeves in the competition. However, more experienced match racers Lars Hueckstedt of Heizkörper Sailing Team and Adrian Maier-Ring, helmsman for Innotio Match Race Team will be among the other contenders looking for the win this weekend. The winner of Qualifying will proceed straight to the Semi Finals. The next 6 teams will compete in Quarter Final knockouts before advancing to Semi Finals and Finals which are scheduled for Saturday 11 October. German National Match Race Championships Felix Oehme-NRV Match Race TeamLars Hueckstaedt-Heizkörper Sailing TeamAdrian Maier-Ring-Innotio Match Race Team IFlorian Haufe-Haufe Racing TeamJens Hartwig-Hartwig Match TeamChi Trung Huynh-ASV Matchrace Team Mathias Rebholz-Team Up!Felix Schrimper-Innotio Match Race Team II Tino Ellegast-Team Ellegast

London, UK (20th June 2014): The Batavia Sailing Center today selected the Batavia Regatta, which will run over 23 - 24 August 2014 at the Bataviahaven of Lelystad, Holland, as the official Qualifying event for the Dutch Match Cup 2014. The Batavia Sailing Center is the organiser of the Dutch Match Cup the recently announced Stage of the Alpari World Match Racing Tour. For teams wishing to race in the Dutch Match Cup two Qualification places are available. Both the winner and the runner up of the Batavia Regatta will receive an invite to the Dutch Match Cup which will be held between 24-28 September this year. The Dutch Match Cup and the Batavia Regatta will be sailed in MaxFun 25 boats with the race area directly in front of the port of Bataviahaven, very close to the shore, offering fantastic opportunities for spectators to enjoy the action. The organization of the Dutch Match Cup has two further Wild Card invites which will be decided upon later in the year. Batavia Regatta The Batavia Regatta will be an ISAF Grade 3 match racing event. Further information about invites to the Batavia Regatta and the NoRcan be found at www.dutchmatchcup.nl/qualifier/jobtalk.jp http://www.budmag.ua http://www.progressive.uawww.dxtranse.com.ua/europosud.ua/